


spring day

by 00zens



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Creative Director Renjun, Established Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Surprises, happy ending :D, it wasn't supposed to get sad it just happened, photographer jaemin, they just really miss each other okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26892007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00zens/pseuds/00zens
Summary: “Do you ever think about giving up?” Jaemin broke the silence.Renjun was visibly shocked at the question, jaw dropping slightly as he sat up further. “On us?”“I don’t.” Renjun replied firmly. “I think we’re stronger than that.”—Alternatively, Renjun and Jaemin miss each other, but the universe seems to work against them.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	spring day

**Author's Note:**

> hello! welcome to, yet again, another renmin fic
> 
> this is dedicated to cass; happy birthday angel! i love you lots ^_^
> 
> title from + fic very loosely based on 'spring day' by bts :)
> 
> enjoy!

“Don’t say that.” Jaemin whispered, loosening his grip on the phone in his hand. 

  
  


Renjun frowned, cocking his head to the side in confusion. “What? That I miss you? I do though.”

  
  


“I think it gets worse the more I hear you say it.” The younger laughed bitterly, running a shaky hand through his faded pink hair. “I’m sorry— I know that’s really selfish of me to say.”

  
  


Letting out a heavy sigh, Renjun stayed silent on the other end of the line. Tonight they had settled for a simple phone call, as opposed to their usual FaceTime sessions. Jaemin insisted that there wasn’t a real reason, but as the call lengthened, Renjun was beginning to figure out what was going on.

  
  


“You know the picture of us I have on my desk?”

  
  


Renjun hummed in response, eyes closing as he envisioned the image Jaemin was talking about. It was from their first official date after they had finally confessed to each other, taken by none other than Mark who was convinced by Donghyuck to spy on their outing.

  
  


“I cried the other day when I saw it.” Jaemin chuckled, mostly at himself. 

  
  


“Actually?” Renjun cracked a smile. “Why? It’s definitely been there for more than two years.”

  
  


At this point, Jaemin had naturally gone into the usual position he would find himself in while on the phone with his boyfriend. He laid down on his right side, phone facing the ceiling in front of him while he cuddled his body pillow. It reminded him a lot of Renjun, who would refuse to allow it on the bed when he visited because Jaemin would always somehow wake up cuddling it instead of him.

  
  


“I don’t really know. I had a long day and when I got home and saw it, I just started… crying.”

  
  


Silence on the other end.

  
  


“It was probably because it was the day you were supposed to arrive.”

  
  


“Jaemin,” Renjun frowned, sadness evident in his voice. “I’m still really sorry about that. I hate that our schedules never line up.”

  
  


The pink haired boy nodded on the other end of the call, despite the fact that Renjun couldn’t see him. “It’s not your fault.”

  
  


“Time difference almost slipped my mind,” Renjun chuckled lightly. “It’s already almost 2 there, go to sleep.”

  
  


Jaemin pouted, eyes opening at the statement. “I’m only an hour ahead. Will you be on the line when I wake up?”

  
  


“I have work, angel. It’s late here too so I’ll go to bed too. I’ll probably be gone by the time you’re up though.”

  
  


“Unfair.” Jaemin mumbled. “Work is dumb.”

  
  


Renjun threw his blanket over his body, placing his phone down on his nightstand. He knew the real reason behind Jaemin’s statement— the fact that his job in China was the reason they were apart in the first place. “Sleep well.”

  
  


Humming in response, Jaemin’s eyes fluttered shut. “Goodnight, I love you.”

  
  


“I love you.” Renjun smiled, closing his eyes shortly after. 

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

  
  


“You really can’t make it?” Jaemin asked defeatedly. “I thought your boss promised you time off of work for the next two weeks.”

  
  


The older propped his phone up on his laptop screen, biting his lip nervously as he stopped typing. Renjun wasn’t completely sure how to reply— he didn’t plan on bringing it up for another few days. Of course, his mouth ran faster than his brain, so he had slipped up while excitedly talking about what he was up to at his job. 

  
  


“Yeah,” Renjun mumbled, eyes avoiding his phone screen where he knew he would catch Jaemin’s disappointed expression. “We weren’t expecting to get the deal this early, and since I lead the project I have to be here for it.”

  
  


Jaemin groaned loudly, throwing his head so far back that it made contact with the wall. “Why did I have to date a sexy businessman?”

  
  


“You are so annoying.” Renjun rolled his eyes, finally getting the courage to tear his eyes away from the slideshow he was making. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of a pouty Jaemin rubbing the spot on his head that had hit the wall. “I’m not even a sexy businessman, just a creative director— almost.”

  
  


“Still sexy.” 

  
  


Renjun scoffed. “Whatever. I’ll have Jisung on FaceTime under the table so I can still see your exhibit.”

  
  


“Why is the universe so against us seeing each other?” Jaemin frowned deeply. “The last three times we’ve made plans, they got cancelled because of our schedules.”

  
  


The boy on the other end began looking around his room, as if he could find the answer hidden somewhere on the walls. After a few moments, his shoulders slumped in defeat and he leaned back against his pillow before sighing heavily. “I really wish I could tell you, babe.”

  
  


Both of them fell silent, their minds racing too quickly to get any words out. Renjun gave up on finishing the slide he was on, closing the window he was in. Like every other night, he was greeted by his laptop’s wallpaper— a polaroid scan of him and Jaemin from the last time they’d seen each other. 

  
  


They had decided to spend his last day in Korea stuck in Jaemin’s apartment doing a series of chaotic things; cooking, almost burning the kitchen down, cuddling, chasing each other around, almost breaking Jaemin’s camera collection, and more. It happened almost six months before— much longer than they’d thought that they would have to spend apart.

  
  


“Do you ever think about giving up?” Jaemin broke the silence.

  
  


Renjun was visibly shocked at the question, jaw dropping slightly as he sat up further. “On us?”

  
  


Nodding his head, Jaemin stared at the older through the phone. “I mean—I’m not saying that I do, because I don’t— but it’s something I always think about when it gets really late and I’m stuck here missing you. I guess I’m just scared of it.”

  
  


“I don’t.” Renjun replied firmly. “I think we’re stronger than that.”

  
  


Jaemin couldn’t help but crack a small smile at that, and Renjun mirrored his expression almost immediately.

  
  


“Us against the world.” Renjun added, letting his body sink comfortably into the sheets. “It always has been, and it always will be.”

  
  


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

  
  


“What do you mean you’re running late?” Jaemin exclaimed into the phone, exasperated. “I woke you up at the asscrack of dawn!”

  
  


On the other end of the line, Jeno rolled his eyes. “Yes, you did. And I’m telling you now, almost five hours later, that I am running late to your exhibit.”

  
  


“Aren’t you Chenle and Jisung’s driver too? Doesn’t that mean they’ll be late too?”

  
  


“That is correct.” Jeno replied. Jaemin waited for the boy to spill more details, but it seemed that he had muted his microphone. The younger could no longer hear the breeze outside through the phone, confusing him even further.

  
  


“Jeno? Hello? You have the audacity to tell me that my only physical moral support is Mark and Donghyuck, and then mute yourself right after?”

  
  


The older chuckled into the phone, amusement evident in his voice. “Sorry. You’ll survive, yeah? We’ll be ten minutes late max— I just have something to get on the way. You can do it!”

  
  


“Yeah, whatever.” Jaemin mumbled, running an anxious hand through his pink hair that was styled up for the day. “You better speed over here.”

  
  


“I obey traffic laws, thank you very much.” Jeno responded. “I’m gonna start driving now, good luck!”

  
  


Jaemin huffed as he heard three beeps come from his phone, turning around to be met with a grinning Donghyuck and a nervous Mark. They were dressed exactly how Jaemin had told them to be— business casual, clad in white button ups and black jeans without any holes in them. In Mark’s right hand was a small bouquet of flowers, arranged by no other than himself using flowers from his shop. Donghyuck held a large cup of coffee, as requested by Jaemin, and was already walking closer to the younger to hand it to him.

  
  


“You actually cleaned yourselves up.” Jaemin stated, impressed. “I was honestly expecting one of you to show up in a hoodie.”

  
  


Donghyuck clutched his chest dramatically with his mouth hanging open. “You think that lowly of us?”

  
  


“I had to convince him not to wear his ugly leopard print shirt.” Mark spoke monotonously, placing the bouquet he was holding down on the table beside them. They were in the back corner of the waiting room, the rest of the space being taken up by the staff of the venue getting things in order. Jaemin tugged on his tie, suddenly feeling hot as the reality of what was happening settled in his mind. 

  
  


The two boys standing in front of him watched as his eyes flickered all over the room, his nerves more evident than ever. Mark cleared his throat gently, asking the only question that could come to mind. 

  
  


“Have you spoken to Renjun today?”

  
  


Jaemin’s shoulders fell at the mention of his boyfriend— who should’ve been there, if it wasn’t for his job that he held so close to his heart. “No, he’s been at meetings since earlier this morning. His phone’s probably on ‘do not disturb’, it always is on his busiest days.”

  
  


Mark let out an awkward sound of acknowledgement, not knowing how to respond. Donghyuck rolled his eyes at the older before looking back at Jaemin, who was now succumbing to his terrible habit of chewing on his bottom lip until it was raw and slightly bleeding.

  
  


“Hey,” Donghyuck placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need to be so nervous. Your pictures are amazing, everyone who shows up is going to be blown away. Now stop eating your lip, blood isn’t the cutest look in professional pictures.”

  
  


“Whatever.” Jaemin mumbled, taking a long sip of his coffee. Instead of the exhibit, he was now thinking about Renjun. He’d sent a picture of his outfit to the boy beforehand, simply adding a message saying “ _ had to get a random staff member to do my tie since you aren’t here :( _ “ before he hit send. Of course, he was left on delivered— which he expected, but a piece of him still hoped that Renjun would see it before his meetings.

  
  


“Jaemin!” a voice called out. The pink haired boy’s eyes shot up from where they were trained on the floor, meeting his manager’s. “Two more minutes, we need to get you out there soon.”

  
  


Mark smiled brightly. “You’re gonna crush it, yeah? I bet all the cool people coming are gonna wish they were you after today.” The younger chuckled at the statement, placing his coffee down on the table. “I can only hope you’re right. Get out now, you’re distracting.”

  
  


The two boys bid him a quick goodbye, with Donghyuck holding one of Jaemin’s less expensive cameras in his hand. He was assigned ‘photographer’ for the day, practically begging Jaemin to let him use his equipment. Despite Donghyuck’s sillier nature, he was actually quite good at taking photos and he knew how valuable Jaemin’s things were, so the latter didn’t see a problem with it.

  
  


“One minute.” Jaemin’s manager grinned at him, gesturing for him to get ready to walk through the small stage’s curtain. The boy wasn’t all that used to having his pictures exhibited— this was only his second exhibition, after all. The nerves were still there, along with the hope for validation from the famed and respected photographers who he knew would be stopping by. 

  
  


“Go ahead.” He faintly heard his manager tell him. Jaemin’s hands shook slightly as he heard his name get announced by whoever had been hired to introduce him, pulling back the opening of the curtain and stepping out.

  
  


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

  
  


Jaemin grinned widely at the small crowd as he began to finish up explaining the theme of the pieces he had displayed. “I wanted to center the exhibit around the people around me— most, if not all of the photos you will see today are candid shots. That’s about all I have to explain, I don’t want to take up too much of your time talking! I hope you all enjoy the exhibit, and I’ll be walking around so don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you have.”

  
  


Everyone erupted into a round of applause as Jaemin bowed, lowering the mic from his mouth before turning around to leave the stage. He let out a loud sigh of relief once he heard the playlist Jisung had put together begin to play softly through the speakers. 

  
  


“You did great, Jaemin.” His manager rubbed his back gently. “Now go, you have guests! I’m sure you saw plenty of familiar faces.”

  
  


Jaemin scratched the back of his head, knowing she was right. “Yeah, one second. I just need to text Renjun.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket quickly, furiously typing out an incoherent string of messages to the boy. Only half of them really made sense, the other half being random letters thrown together amidst his screaming. 

  
  


He quickly had his manager check his appearance to make sure he looked presentable enough before throwing up a nervous peace sign, disappearing behind the door that led to the exhibit. From there, he lingered around the large room— straightening his posture and putting on his professional voice for the people that inquired about certain pieces.

  
  


The most popular seemed to be the one he’d taken of Renjun, which wasn’t surprising to him at all. He had spent hours in his desk chair editing it— not because there was a lot to touch up, but because he had an exact vision of what he wanted it to look like and settled for nothing less. It was in the center of the room for a reason— he was proud of it and wanted to show off both Renjun and the image he had worked so hard on.

  
  


The only disappointment was that Renjun wasn’t there to see it.

  
  


After over an hour of walking around the room— talking to fellow photographers that he respected an insane amount, along with others who declared themselves ‘big fans’ of his work, Jaemin watched as the room slowly began to clear out. He looked around for any sign of his friends, who he knew had to be there by now. The boy remembered a group of people walking in while he was introducing himself, but he was too nervous to study anyone’s faces. 

  
  


Jaemin shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked around, aware of the few people who were still looking. While everyone else was gathered by the back of the room, there was one person who had seemingly been staring at his Renjun piece for awhile. Clearing his throat gently, Jaemin decided to approach them.

  
  


“Hey,” he greeted warmly. “Did you have any questions?”

  
  


The next few moments almost didn’t feel real. One second, he was staring at the back of the young man’s head, and the next his jaw was dropping as he saw who he had approached.

  
  


“I did, actually.” Renjun grinned excitedly. “Who’s the hottie in the picture?”

  
  


“Oh, fuck you.” Jaemin breathed out, close to tears as he closed the distance between them and encased Renjun in a tight hug. “What the hell are you doing here, asshole?”

  
  


Rolling his eyes, Renjun pulled away. “That’s how you greet your boyfriend of three years who you haven’t seen in months?”

  
  


“You had me walking around moping!” Jaemin exclaimed, unable to stop himself from wrapping his arms around the boy again. “Did your meetings get cancelled?”

  
  


Renjun laughed loudly in his ear, a sound that Jaemin wanted to hear on replay forever. Even after they let go the second time, the younger grabbed onto Renjun’s hands to hold— as if the boy would disappear the moment he loosened his grip on him.

  
  


“I might’ve twisted the truth just a little bit. The first meetings were months ago, I’ve been leading the project for almost six months now.”

  
  


Jaemin’s jaw dropped in shock, unsure how to react. “Actually? And you didn’t tell me— oh my god, I’m feeling so many things right now— can I kiss you, what the fuck?”

  
  


“As if you have to ask.” Renjun shook his head, tilting his head up to connect their lips. It was quick, but it filled Jaemin with more happiness than anything else possibly could in that moment.

  
  


“We’re in public, so that’s all you get.” Jaemin frowned at Renjun’s statement before his eyes widened, realizing they were still at the exhibit and there were still a few people in the room with them. “My bad.”

  
  


“Are you not going to explain everything to me?” the pink haired boy pouted. “Later, Jaem. You have an exhibit to wrap up— I’m all yours at home.”

  
  


Jaemin’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape at that, nodding excitedly before letting go of Renjun’s hands. “You go wherever you want, I’m gonna go try kicking those people out without directly saying anything.”

  
  


Renjun’s expression turned into one of shock before he smacked Jaemin on the arm softly. “Don’t do that, you loser! I’ll be with the others.” He gestured behind Jaemin, where all their friends were gathered behind them. Donghyuck was practically cheesing with the younger’s camera in hand while Chenle laughed loudly at Jaemin’s face once he saw them.

  
  


“We’ll probably be in the back.” Renjun smiled, pressing a chaste kiss on his cheek before walking off.

  
  


Jaemin blinked, frozen in place as he tried to recollect his thoughts. “What the fuck.”

  
  


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

  
  


“You’re moving here?” Jaemin’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets at the news, his voice getting much louder than he had planned.

  
  


Renjun was filling him in on his scheme— the project at his job, which was actually Renjun designing the interior of the company office in Korea (which was a whole other career Jaemin didn’t even know the older had gone into, but it made sense considering almost all of their friend group’s homes were decorated by Renjun), him coordinating with Jeno and getting information from him, and the hardest task of all: keeping it a secret from Jaemin.

  
  


“That I am.” Renjun grinned, continuing to unpack his suitcase on the floor of Jaemin’s bedroom. “Not yet— there are still a few things I need to finalize— but I should be fully moved in by the end of the year.”

  
  


Jaemin clapped excitedly. “Holy shit, Renjun. It’s literally August, you’re telling me we’re going into next year living together?”

  
  


“Who said anything about me moving in?” Renjun raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. 

  
  


Jaemin’s hands fell to his lap, eyes widening yet again as he processed what he had said. “Sorry, I was talking too fast and I didn’t even realize—”

  
  


“You wanna live with me, Na?” Renjun turned towards his suitcase to hide his smirk. He was having fun flustering the boy, almost like it was his duty to do it while he was there.

  
  


“I mean,” Jaemin began to stumble over his words. “If you want to— but I’m not forcing you to, I just— maybe it’d be cool? I don’t know, oh my god, let me shut up.”

  
  


Renjun looked at him from his spot on the floor, his smile as big as ever as he made eye contact with Jaemin. “I would love to live with you, angel.”

  
  


“Seriously?” Jaemin questioned, genuinely surprised by the statement. “Even if I make a mess, and I leave my equipment everywhere, and I move a lot in my sleep?”

  
  


Giggling softly, Renjun nodded. “We’ve talked about it before, yeah? Maybe it’s time— maybe the stars are finally aligning for us.”

  
  


Jaemin sat speechless on his bed, trying to process everything that was happening. He failed to create an actual response for Renjun, instead blurting out the only thing that came to mind.

  
  


“Come here, I’m gonna kiss you so hard.”

**Author's Note:**

> i love renmin :D thank you for reading!
> 
> twt: renminsung  
> cc: 00zens


End file.
